Valery Gergiev

PROKOFIEV Piano Concertos 4783952

First the caveat-- Alexander Toradze and Valery Gergiev take perverse liberties with Prokofiev's scores here . . . But it's worth bearing with these "sins" for the character of much of these performances. Most successful of all is the Fifth, which sounds not merely pugnacious, but fun and even playful; trust Gergiev to whip up its "con fuoco" into a rapid tempo, creating a helter skelter riot of sound! And listen to how Gergiev and Toradze relish the cock-a-snook build-up of the First's finale.